School District 27 Superintendent Mark Thiessen is warning parents of a potential student walkout being organized for Wednesday, June 4.
In an information bulletin sent to parents Tuesday, Thiessen said any walkout activities are not sanctioned by the district or by individual schools, and added the proposed walkout raises a number of concerns particularly with regard to student safety.
“(We) strongly encourage students not to participate in the walkout,” Thiessen said. “Both to ensure their own safety and to avoid adding further unnecessary and unproductive disruptions to their learning during this already difficult dispute.”
At the Tribune’s press time the proposed student walkout was gaining attention and momentum across the province in both mainstream and social media.
Thiessen said student safety cannot be guaranteed for students participating in walkout activities and should there be student protests here, parents need to expect that those activities will not be supervised by teachers.
The possible disruption comes on the heels of two all-day strikes conducted by SD 27 teachers in the last two weeks. Top that off with a partial lockout instituted by the government which prevents teachers from talking with students at recess and lunch hour and curtails their work hours. The impacts on students have been noticeable.
Just this week it was announced the 2014 Elementary District Track and Field meet will not be going ahead as planned this year due to the labour unrest.
Cancellation of the popular event will directly impact between 300 to 400 student athletes, as well as prevent any times from being recorded in the record books.
However, late Tuesday concerned parents sent a letter to the school district appealing for some way to continue with the track meet, even offering to volunteer their time in the teachers’ absence.
Cancellation of the popular event will directly impact between 300 to 400 student athletes, as well as prevent any times from being recorded in the record books.